Magic

For quite some time I have been very interested in magic.  Most people don’t know simply because friends rarely appreciate the hobbies that mean the most to you.  Walking down the street, I can do multiple things to stun the mind.  I can make a coin vanish into thin air–and re-appear in your pocket.  I can push a coin through glass, pull a coin from thin air, make a flower dance in mid-air.  Not to mention the various card tricks that I know.  What if I tied my shoelaces for you without touching them?  Hell, that’s nothing.  I can even levitate.  But, only certain people have ever been treated to these illusions.  I find when you suprise people with the talent, they are more accepting.  They always ask the same question too; “How did you do that?”  I am hear to tell you, they never really want to know.  I hope you don’t either.  For once you know the answer, the magician becomes nothing.  My life is full of secrets–much like most of yours.  The only difference is, no one even knows I have secrets.

The best tricks in life are the ones that we pull off right in front of your face and you miss it.  We know we did something amazing.  Yet, the only question you can ask yourself is “did that really just happen?”  The secret is that what you believe is an illusion is real, and what you believe is real is only an illusion.  What most people miss is that we are all intertwined in one way or another.  We are connected.  Do me a favor.  Using two different numbers, odd numbers…think of a number between 1 and…50.  Got it?  Good. 

As  humans, we have an ability to feel each other out no matter what.  Think about it for a second.  I don’t care if you think about your best friend, your significant other…or a man or woman in Pakistan or in the deepest darkest jungles of this planet.  You know what their facial expressions mean.  A smile is a smile.  A laugh is a laugh.  It means happiness.  Tears, frowning, yelling…depending on the mood, they’re easy to figure out too.  We are all connected in one way or another.  By the way, I think your number was 37.

We are all connected by what seems to be magic.  But honestly, we are connected by much more.  Things in life are representations of what we all know.  I bet there aren’t too many people on the planet who don’t know what a deck of cards is.  Do you know the wonder of a deck of cards?  Check this out!  A deck is evenly divided into red and black cards, analagous with day and night.  There are 52 cards, and 52 weeks in our year.  Four suits of cards and four seasons in our year.  13 cards per suit–you guessed it, 13 lunar cycles in a year.  Finally, if we make a Jack=11, Queen=12, and King=13, the cards add up to 365.  Cards are phenomenal.  They are living, breathing organisms.  Take out a deck now.  Feel them in your hands.  I want to do something for you.  Start off by shuffling your cards.  Now, I want you to make 3 piles of 7 cards each, face down.  Square the piles.  You won’t need the other cards.  These 21 cards are special.  You chose them for a reason.  Now, pick a pile in front of you, anyone you would like.  Cut to a card.  See that card?  Remember it.  Now, place the cards you have in your hand on either of the other 2 piles.  Cut some cards from the other piles and put them on top of the pile with your card.  Go ahead and put the rest of the cards on top of the pile with your card in it.  Got it?  You should have one pile with the 21 magical cards, still face down.  Ok.  Now pick them up and deal out 3 cards, turning them face up, in a row from this pile.  Now, deal a second row on top of your first row, slightly overlapping.  Keep doing this until all cards are dealt.  You should have 3 columns of face-up cards (7 in each column).  Let’s pick your card. 

Think of your card and give it to me.  Ok.  Here we go.  I don’t think your card is in column one whatsoever.  Just remove that column.  Your card also isn’t either of the top 2 cards in column 2.  Get rid of them.  There is no way it is the bottom 4 cards in column 3, remove them.  OK.  Let’s think some more.  I got it!  It is not the bottom card of the second column.  Get rid of it.  It also isn’t any of the top 3 cards in coulmn 3.  Forget about it!  Now, if we eliminated correctly, we have 4 cards left.  It isn’t the top 2.  Remove them.  2 cards to go.  And guess what?  You know the answer and so do I.  It isn’t the bottom card.  If I am right, 20 cards are face down next to your original card.

 Ok, so we see how magic can be fun.  It can be done anywhere.  I’m not even sure what time you are reading this.  But, if you are doing my trick above, you and I are connected.  I picked your card, and didn’t even know you were here reading this.  Want to know the secret?  Well my friend, at one time I did too.  I discovered it, and went from there.  But remember, if you are willing to become obsessed with secrets, you must follow through.  Our code is secrecy.  Don’t tell anyone how you do the tricks you do.  You become nothing.  This rings true in life and your endeavors as well.  No one wants to know everything about you.  Even if they say they do.  Always keep a bit of mystery in your life.  It is entertaining, and well worth it.  Until we meet again, ladies and gentlemen.  Are you watching closely?